On the evening of the 19th, a series of stabbing incidents occurred near Taipei Metro Taipei Main Station and Zhongshan Station. A Japanese traveler who was near the scene recalled, "There was a commotion, I felt something was wrong, so I quickly ran away."
According to the Central News Agency, the areas around Taipei Metro Taipei Main Station and Zhongshan Station are popular spots for Japanese tourists. Multiple Japanese media outlets have also paid close attention to this incident, placing reports about it on their front pages or in prominent positions on their websites.
Japan's TBS Television reported that at the time, a Japanese traveler who passed by the area recalled, "I was riding the escalator at the time, and while riding, I thought I smelled a strange smoke. Just as I was about to reach the end of the escalator, I noticed a commotion."
He continued, "Many people were fleeing this way from the subway (metro) direction, so I felt something was wrong... and quickly left the scene."
He recalled, "The smell I noticed was like smoke (canister) or fireworks."
Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that so far, there have been no reports of Japanese nationals injured in the incident.
Japanese Netizens: This isn't something we can just watch from afar
According to United Daily News, some Japanese netizens commented that there are many Japanese travelers here, and if you're not careful, you could easily get caught up in such an incident. Japan has experienced indiscriminate attacks like those in Akihabara and Kyoto Animation, so people feel this isn't something we can just watch from afar.
Some said that basically, Taiwan is a very safe place and they don't think Taiwan has become dangerous because of this. Another netizen commented that recently there was a shooting incident in Australia, and now there's a stabbing in Taiwan; with many people traveling abroad around the New Year, everyone should stay alert. Japan has many mentally disturbed murders, and overseas can be even more dangerous.